Carmen Sandiego (2019 character)
Carmen Sandiego is the primary protagonist of the 2019 Netflix animated series ''Carmen Sandiego''. ''She learned how to become a professional thief at V.I.L.E. Academy, but later defected to see the world for her own. She plans and executes capers with partners Player, Ivy and Zack. She is voiced in English by Gina Rodriguez. Personality Carmen is seen as intelligent and knowledgeable due to her incredible education since her infancy, swift from the physical training under Coach Brunt and playing pranks growing up, innate athletic skill, as well as quick-witted from her training to handle high-pressure situations. She isn't fazed by difficult situations as her education in V.I.L.E. Academy prepared her for similar if not exact scenarios. But due to her inexperience and eagerness, she can still be prone to missteps, as when she was in Ecuador, she forgot to acclimate to the altitude change and fainted;Season 1, Episode 4; "The Fishy Doubloon Caper" or in Mumbai when fighting Paper Star, she didn't notice the ACME card she swiped off Chase Devineaux was missing until after she returned the Magna Carta. Carmen is also empathic of others, as seen when she fought off her graduate classmates to save a dig-site crew after developing an appreciation of art. Or when she learned of the cultural value of Uluru to the native peoples of the Outback, and how a V.I.L.E. plan would be devastating to them. As well as the time when Doctor Pilar Marquez explained the 1830 Ecuadorian 8 Escudos doubloon's historical value, Carmen did not want to deprive the Ecuadorian people of a cultural treasure; something resonant to her, as she herself knows nothing of her past. Carmen raced to retrieve it and directly gave the coin to Marquez out of trust that she'd keep the coin safe in a museum. She is also a humanitarian, donating to children's hospitals, orphanages, museums, and various other charities. Carmen is sympathetic to these causes as she knows nothing of herself, and wants to ensure others have opportunities in and knowledge of the world which she believes is their right to know and have a chance to appreciate. Carmen is also shown to be selfless, as when Devineaux is kidnapped by V.I.L.E. believing him to be her secret partner, Carmen risked her own safety to rescue him, even though she knew it was a trap as Coach Brunt and Shadow-san were in the area hunting for her.Season 1 Episode 9; "The French Connection Caper" Abilities Due to spending the majority of her early life at V.I.L.E. academy, learning from her large pool of nannies, and being personally tutored by the V.I.L.E. faculty members, Carmen has an assortment of relevant combat and skills relevant. * '''Martial arts -' Carmen is also shown to be very agile and a skilled fighter, being agile enough to free-run across steep rooftops, perform complex acrobatic maneuvers with considerable ease and defeat many experienced V.I.L.E operatives. * 'Thievery - ' As a professional thief, Carmen steals items without her opponents knowing or sensing the act. She was even praised by Shadowsan to be one of his finest students and best in the class by Graham. * 'Stealth - '''Carmen is skillful in stealth, given her ability to sneak into multiple high-security complexes to perform her heists and disappear in broad daylight, allowing her to evade capture by Interpol, A.C.M.E., and V.I.L.E. * '''Driving skills - '''Carmen can operate a wide range of vehicles, including but not limited to cars, motorcycles, and boats. She even engages in a high-speed chase using her motorcycle against a veteran car thief stealing an electric supercar. * '''Multilingualism -' Due to her exposure to various cultures due to her upbringing, Carmen is able to speak and understand various languages, including Mandarin, Portuguese and Italian. *'Master tactician -' Carmen's strategic planning and mental prowess seem to be her greatest asset. Whether it be her strong leadership skills, her ability to adapt to a situation in a fight, she almost constantly being able to triumph in difficult positions or against foes who are numerically superior. Weaknesses In spite of her confidence, Carmen does have her weaknesses. Due to her mysterious past, she has shown to be insecure when she tried to avoid the topic when Graham asked for her real name during her academic year, or experienced visions which caused her to be distracted when she learned it was Shadowsan who discovered her as a baby, not Coach Brunt as she has assumed. Professor Maelstorm has tried to take advantage of this by getting Coach Brunt to reveal details of her past, hoping to sow discord between her and Shadowsan's partnership. She also has difficulty in facing foes who are vastly superior in strength and durability, such as facing Coach Brunt in France. Gear Outfit Being a professional super anti-thief, Carmen requires a range of attire and disguises for her missions and situations. Trench Coat and Wide Brim Hat * Arguably her most iconic and commonly used clothing in the series, it stores a wide range of hidden gadgets that Carmen uses on her mission, including a built-in hang glider. It also offers adequate protection against Stockholm's chilly weather. * Due to its bright color and strong association with Carmen, she has on numerous occasions allow her crew members to wear them as a distraction to any unwanted attention. Black Inner Suit * Worn under her red trench coat, supplied to her from V.I.L.E. Red Hoodie and Jeans * This is seen as her casual outfit. Motorcycle Suit * First spotted in the episode The Need for Speed Caper, when she was tailing Zack and Ivy after they attracted the attention of the local police. Diving Suit * First spotted in the episode "The Fishy Doubloon Caper", when she exploring a shipwreck off the coast of Ecuador. It has a built-in jet pack if she requires more speed while moving in the water. Equipment = Biography Early life Carmen is the biological daughter of former Faculty member, Dexter Wolfe, who taught Stealth 101 in Shadowsan's day at the V.I.L.E. Academy. He, like his daughter, was a master thief, however, at an unknown point in time, he met Vera Cruz and fathered a child with her, Carmen. Wolfe's time as a father changed him, so he decided to give up the life of as a criminal and settle down with his family. The Faculty became aware of his increased unexplained disappearances and transferring of V.I.L.E assets into a Swiss account, suspecting Wolfe might plan on leaving the organization, and sent a young Shadowsan to find out what he was planning and assassinate him if deem necessary. When Shadowsan arrived at his home to do so, he discovered Wolfe's real motive for his unexplained disappearance, and his reason for planning to leave V.I.L.E., as he now had a baby daughter. He saw how much Wolfe had changed and hesitated, but before he could carry on with his mission, he was interrupted by Interpol agents arriving to the scene. In order to protect his child, Wolfe hid Carmen in a closet and gave her a set of Matryoshka dolls (nesting dolls) to pacify her, which became the only artifact of her past. A young Interpol agent (later revealed to be the Chief of A.C.M.E.) managed to corner Wolfe. As Wolfe was putting his hands up, The Chief saw him pulling what looked like a gun out of a pocket and shot him dead; it turned out to only to be car keys. To cover up any evidence of the existence of V.I.L.E, Shadowsan set fire to Wolfe's estate, and, unable to leave the infant, took Carmen and brought her to the Isle of V.I.L.E.. For his efforts, the Faculty awarded Shadowsan his former mentor's position and, after witnessing her potential as a criminal, decided to raise Carmen to become be a future operative. In order to suppress this, she was told that when she was found abandoned in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by a member of the high council of V.I.L.E., and was taken to the Isle of V.I.L.E. along with the Matryoshka dolls, which she identifies as her first belongings. Her real name is unknown, since when she was growing up, she went by the codename Black Sheep. Unlike the other students, Black Sheep did not choose her codename, it was given to her. As a child, Black Sheep was raised by a series of nannies from around the world, who gave her a broad education of fundamentals such as reading and writing as well as cultural and geographic exposure. Simply by being raised on an island that trained thieves, she became adept at the techniques practiced at V.I.L.E. academy on her own, despite being the youngest person on the island. Though she had a cheeky streak, she was mostly allowed to get away with whatever she wanted thanks to her guardians. Black Sheep liked to pull pranks, using her pick-pocketing skills to swipe belts or tease the Cleaning Crew. Every year on December first, V.I.L.E.'s accountant, Cookie Booker, would arrive on the Island with her boat's Captain. Black Sheep would greet the visitors by throwing water balloons at them. One year, when Ms. Booker and the Captain visited, the Captain had enough and chased Black Sheep into V.I.L.E. Academy, when Black Sheep slipped on a wet floor. Just when the Captain was about to finally discipline the child for years of torment, Coach Brunt grabbed him and punched him so hard that his smartphone flew out of his pocket. Intrigued by the device, Black Sheep took the phone for herself, and hid it in her largest doll, since V.I.L.E. Academy has a strict "No Cell Phones" policy. Taking the device she stole from the man, she hid it in the largest nesting doll. Time passed, and the now teenage Black Sheep began to realize how boring life was on the island and how she wanted to see the world, which a lot of the graduates from V.I.L.E. Academy got to do once they learned how to become international master thieves. Then, one night a few years later, the device she had stolen began to vibrate. She answered it and spoke to the person on the other end of the line; a boy who introduces himself as "Player". He explains he lives on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and had managed to break through the encryption on the phone, which allowed him to place a call to it. Inspired by making contact with the outside world for the first time, Black Sheep decides that it's time to see it for herself and volunteers herself as a V.I.L.E. academy cadet. Enrollment Black Sheep gathered the V.I.L.E. Faculty to state her case, arguing that while her age would normally put her beneath consideration, she still has more than enough background to be a candidate for acceptance. Coach Brunt, Professor Maelstrom, Countess Cleo, and Professor Sarah Bellum were somewhat skeptical, but also recognized that her upbringing does indeed give her the sort of talents that are sought after in V.I.L.E. graduates, Shadowsan was the most outspoken member and was highly unconvinced that Black Sheep has the qualifications for a professional thief. Black Sheep remained resolute that her future lies with V.I.L.E. academy, prompting a vote from the other faculty members. The council outvoted Shadowsan at a ratio of four to one, granting Black Sheep full admission to the academy. Black Sheep moved into the dorms of V.I.L.E. academy and met four other students: Antonio, Jean Paul, Gray, and Sheena. Immediately after meeting Black Sheep, Sheena began harassing her, but Gray stepped in and settled things in the interest of order between roommates. While socializing with Gray in the halls, Gray explained to Black Sheep that he had been a junior electrician at the world-famous Sydney Opera House until he realized he could use his skills for burglary, which is how he caught V.I.L.E.'s attention. The two formed a strong friendship through their various courses at V.I.L.E. academy. Black Sheep began formally cultivating talents in thievery, combat, identification of rare items, gadgetry, and deception with the help of the instructors at the academy. Black Sheep excelled at all her classes, proving herself to be part of the team. Despite now being a cadet, Black Sheep's tendencies didn't go away and she continued to pull pranks. After roping in her fellow dorm mates into the annual water balloon prank, they were caught and brought before the faculty for discipline. As before, Shadowsan was particularly displeased and demanded that Black Sheep face expulsion for her actions. Gray stepper forward and said that the entire group was responsible, against Sheena's protests, and the five were sentenced to detention. Making the best of their situation, Gray suggested they pitch code names to adopt. After a round of unsuccessful suggestions, Gray combines his first name with the world "crackle" to create "Graham Crackle", which he shortens to "Crackle" after the other students talk him out of it. Jean Paul goes with the name "Le Chevre" (French for "The Goat"), because of his affinity for coming in from above. Antonio adopts the codename "El Topo" (Spanish for "The Mole"), due to his use of drill claws that allow him to approach from below. Sheena takes the name "Tigress", due to her sharp claw gloves and optical hardware that lets her see as well as a cat in the dark. Finally, there is the class mime, who takes the name "Mime Bomb". Graduation approached and the only thing that remained was for Black Sheep to pass her final exams. Shadowsan's final exam, a pickpocketing exercise, was for the student to find a dollar bill hidden in one of the pockets on his coat within two minutes while dodging his martial arts attacks. The exam was passed by Tigress, due to her taking advantage of her claws and optics to rip open Shadowsan's pocket to steal the target. Then Black Sheep tries, but discovers she is unable to successfully pickpocket her instructor. The results for the exams came in and everyone from Black Sheep's dorm graduated, except for Black Sheep herself. Black Sheep confronted Shadowsan and demanded a second opportunity, accusing him of rigging the exam against her by not having the objective on his person at all, but was refused and told to study for another attempt in a year. Frustrated with the situation, Black Sheep decided that if she can't graduate, she'll simply join a mission by herself. She snuck out one night and boarded the chopper taking the other graduates to their first caper. However her escape was not unnoticed, as Mime Bomb spotted her leaving. First Field Trip As the chopper Black Sheep had stowed away on flew out to the job site, Black Sheep's phone rang. Player had been able to track Black Sheep for the first time since he made contact, thanks to the phone leaving the vicinity of V.I.L.E. island's encrypted frequencies. Black Sheep cut the conversation short as the mission's entry point approached. Noticing that the graduates are going to parachute into the site, Black Sheep realized she didn't have a way off the helicopter. El Topo, Le Chevre, and Tigress bail out but Crackle was caught off guard by Black Sheep diving onto him before he jumps, forcing him to jump with her. Back at V.I.L.E. island, Mime Bomb, who had followed Black Sheep when she made her escape through the sewer system, gave a report to the faculty members. Though they had trouble grasping his charades, Black Sheep stowing away with the graduating class was made clear. Fearing a possible mission compromise, Professor Maelstrom dispatched the Cleaners to remedy the situation. On the ground, Crackle regrouped with the others after lecturing Black Sheep on her recklessness but Black Sheep remained undeterred and followed the thieves to their objective. At the mission site, Black Sheep took in her first look at the outside world of Casablanca, Morocco and was mesmerized by it all. She followed a bright light that lead her to a large pit that was actively being dug out. A man approached her and asked what she's doing at such a late hour, which prompted Black Sheep to inquire about her whereabouts. It was an archaeological dig site that had recently uncovered "the Eye of Vishnu", a large jewel thought to be lost centuries ago. While the value of the item is without question, the man was more interested in preserving it purely for its own sake in the interest of maintaining a record of history. However, when the lights went down at the dig site, Black Sheep realized that the dig site was the mission objective and that V.I.L.E. was here to steal the Eye of Vishnu. Le Chevre and Tigress descended on the dig site and took out all the personnel as El Topo retrieved the objective itself from under the earth. The site manager realized Black Sheep was one of the thieves and tried to take back the Eye of Vishnu, but was cut off by Crackle. He was overpowered and thrown to the ground, at which point Crackle pulled out his EMP rod and attempted to eliminate the dig site manager. Black Sheep dove onto him and wrestled the weapon away as the manager evacuates, his life still intact. Tigress tried to break up the fight but only got smacked with Crackle's weapon when Black Sheep took possession of it. Black Sheep direly tried to get answers out of her friend, but before she could, the Cleaners suddenly appeared from behind and neutralized Black Sheep with chloroform. Black Sheep was returned to V.I.L.E. island after her interference in the mission, and while she was welcomed back without any severe punishment, the staff at V.I.L.E. kept an especially close eye on her from then onwards. Now without the rest of her class, "Black Sheep" felt painfully alone and lost access to the phone that allowed any sort of communication beyond the shores of the island. Fed up with all things V.I.L.E., Black Sheep quietly went about her days on the island until the moment arrived when she could finally escape for good. First Heist As usual, Cookie Booker arrived on the first of December with her typical drop of the hard drive containing intel on possible high-value targets for V.I.L.E. to focus on for the coming year. Black Sheep, knowing this from years of pranking the bookkeeper on her arrival, decided that this is the best opportunity to escape V.I.L.E. island, leaving behind her treasured Russian nesting dolls in the process in order to travel light. Before setting out, Black Sheep stole back the phone she had originally taken from the bookkeeper's bodyguard. She called Player, her computer-savvy contact on the mainland, in order to solicit his help with her escape. Believing V.I.L.E. can't be allowed to continue wantonly thieving with no regard for anyone but themselves, Black Sheep decided she needs to steal the hard drive containing their intel to disrupt their operations. Before she could steal the drive, however, Cookie took the drive to be uploaded to V.I.L.E.'s servers. Black Sheep followed Cookie, but ran across Mime Bomb, who was hanging around the halls. After a brief "conversation", she tried to move on, until realizing that Mime Bomb was stalking the halls in order to get the drop on any suspicious activity. She went after him and threw him into a broom closet, taking away any means he might have to escape. Black Sheep chased Cookie to the elevator, a secure transport to the server room, preventing anyone from getting inside without authentication. Black Sheep was forced to catch the elevator by throwing the toolkit she took from Mime Bomb into the door of the elevator so she could board as well. Masquerading as an IT trainee, she impressed Cookie, who praised her on the growth she'd demonstrated from being a wild and unruly prankster. After offering some good advice on where to take her career, the pair separated amicably. However, when Cookie discovered that she's been had and Black Sheep had switched the hard drive with the toolkit she was carrying, she put the facility into lockdown, which compromised Black Sheep's communication with Player. Black Sheep tried to escape the same way she did when she stowed away, through the sewers, only to discover that thanks to Mime Bomb's reconnaissance from that escape, V.I.L.E. bolted shut the sewer's grate. The other faculty members realized that Black Sheep was probably responsible for the theft and ordered her capture while she snuck back into the facility. Now with the main door being the only way in or out and being guarded by the Cleaners, Black Sheep realized she'd have to find some way to slip out unnoticed. Sneaking around the facility, she overheard an argument between Ms. Booker and Professor Maelstrom. Maelstrom, although highly upset with Ms. Booker for letting such a thing happen in the first place, acceded to her demand to be let off the island. As she ran through the facility, Black Sheep came across Ms. Booker's highly distinctive red coat and hat, which gave her an idea of how to get out. In the main hall, the Cleaners were told by Professor Maelstrom to do with Ms. Booker as they please; either by letting her pass or eliminating her. As the order came through, a tall woman in a red coat and fedora strode by slowly, her head down. Beneath the hat, Black Sheep looked out from her disguise, fearful of what might happen if she was found out. However the Cleaners were fooled by her disguise and wished her well, allowing Black Sheep to leave the campus unabated. Back in the facility, however, Professor Maelstrom came upon Ms. Booker, who was bound and gagged in a closet, and ordered the Cleaners to eliminate the woman in red. Shadowsan joined the Cleaners at the front of the school and ordered them to take to the sky to chase down Black Sheep as she ran to the shoreline to catch the boat Ms. Booker came in on. The captain of the boat was notified by Professor Maelstrom to the identity of the woman in red but before he could do anything, Black Sheep used one of the telescopic stilts she was wearing to imitate Ms. Booker's height to knock the boat captain unconscious. As the Cleaners tried to start the helicopter to give chase, they discovered that the engine had been sabotaged, preventing them from pursuing. Black Sheep tried to start the boat, but discovered it needed a key, which was still attached to the boat captain's belt. As Shadowsan closed in, she managed to start the boat and pull away from the dock just as he reached the dock's end. The two made eye contact one final time before she sped off into the night. Now out of range of the island, Black Sheep's phone began working again and she contacted Player, who helped her determine she was near the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa. Realizing she would need an identity to survive in the world beyond V.I.L.E. island, Black Sheep co-opted the name "Carmen Sandiego", inspired by the label of the hat she stole from Ms. Booker, which reads "Carmen Brand Outerwear" from "San Diego". After reaching the mainland, she mailed the hard drive to Player and together they began their mission to destroy V.I.L.E. Boston Tea Party Caper Months later in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Carmen was informed by Player of a donut shop that served as a V.I.L.E. front for a counterfeiting operation. While trying to investigate, Carmen met siblings Zack and Ivy, who were also robbing the shop to pay off a loan shark. After helping Carmen stop V.I.L.E.'s plans, the siblings joined Carmen on her team as her mechanic and getaway driver. Caper in Poitiers, France Interpol then caught wind of Carmen, leading to her gaining an adversary in the bumbling inspector Chase Devineaux.Season 1 Episode 1, "Becoming Carmen Sandiego: Part I" Months Later Sometime later, after her caper in Poitiers, France, Carmen was cornered by Gray on a train bound for Paris. She then told him her back story. Afterward, Gray revealed what V.I.L.E. truly stands for, which only confirmed Carmen's suspicions that her upbringing was a lie, emboldening her goal to use her skills as a thief for good rather than evil. Nevertheless, Gray claimed V.I.L.E. was willing to forgive her if she returned willingly and worked for them again. She refused, as the train pulled into Paris, where Chase Devineaux was waiting to apprehend her, only to be tricked into apprehending Gray, who was knocked unconscious and dressed in her now trademark coat and hat. It was determined back in Poitier by Devineaux's partner Jules Argent, that Carmen didn't take anything of value, and that the house she broke into was full of stolen items taken by V.I.L.E., and the house belonged to an imports and exports company, but Carmen did take something from the location: The matryoshka dolls that belonged to her, the only link to her past. As she got away in a boat on the River Seine driven by Zack, she removed a sticker that was placed at the bottom of the most exterior doll, placed there by A.C.M.E. who were tailing the boat, to which Player and Ivy helped complete this caper as they make their next trip to Java Island in Indonesia. The Sticky Rice Caper Arriving in Java, the Carmen Crew made their way to the V.I.L.E. base on file, and found it full of experiments with rice, containing a fungus bio-engineered to consume the rice supply of Indonesia. Carmen recalls V.I.L.E. feeding her a bad tasting artificial instant rice when she was younger, deducing they plan to destroy a nation's food supply to sell the instant rice at an inflated cost. The Fishy Doubloon Caper The Duke of Vermeer Caper The Opera in the Outback Caper The Chasing Paper Caper The Lucky Cat Caper The French Connection Caper The Hot Rocks of Rio Caper The Daisho Caper The Fashionista Caper The Boston Tea Party Caper The Need for Speed Caper The Crackle Goes Kiwi Caper The Stockholm Syndrome Caper The African Ice Caper The Deep Dive Caper In other languages Gallery Screenshots Carmen-sandiego-trailer-header.jpg S2E5 Carmen Solo.png Renders Carmen Sandiego - Profile - Turn.jpg|Model sheet, designed by Keiko Murayama Carmenrender1.png Carmenrender2.png Carmenrender3.png Carmenrender4.png Carmenrender5.png Carmenrender6.png Carmenrender7.png Carmenrender8.png Carmen-crouch.png Version Differences In the 1994 series incarnation, Carmen Sandiego was the primary antagonist, stealing various items and leading V.I.L.E. In later seasons, she would assume an anti-hero role, and even team up with Zack and Ivy. Trivia * Carmen enjoys sushi and coffee. * The red coat Cookie Booker first wears, and Carmen steals, is reminiscent of Carmen Sandiego's design in the 1994 cartoon. References See also * Carmen's Team ** Player ** Zack ** Ivy * V.I.L.E. Faculty (her former adopted family) Category:Characters Category:Carmen's team Category:Female Category:Carmen Sandiego (2019)